Bills 41, Lions 31

Whenever my driving takes me on any form of triangular shape, I am reminded of the reclusive inventor Wendel Beckwith who lived alone on Best Island on Whitewater Lake in what remains of Wabakimi Provincial Park (after a devastating fire swept through it two months ago). Among other eclectic interests, he was fascinated by various triangular theories including his contention that Best Island was located at the exact the centre of the universe and existed in perfect triangulation with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids. Beckwith died in 1980 and we visited what’s left of his cabins on Best Island in 2009.

Over the last four days, my own triangulation driving took me from east Muskoka to Orchard Park, NY, back to Muskoka and then to a small lake just south of Maniwaki, Quebec (150km north of Ottawa) where I visited with old friends, had a few laughs and did not do any night water-skiing like we had done 30 years ago. The triangulation among Orchard Park, Muskoka and Maniwaki is, in my view, just as significant as Beckwith’s was. As far as I know, my friend doesn’t theorize about Pi like Beckwith did but I can say with certainty that the drive from Orchard Park to Maniwaki via Muskoka is about 3.14 times longer than what you’d usually want to do on an average weekend.   

The triangulation began on Thursday with a rather slow and busy drive to the Queenston-Lewiston bridge. I thought for a second that the US Border Officer might just jump in the back of the car and go to the game with us. He commented about how he sure wished he was going to the Bills game which I suspected, incorrectly, might be leading to final bizarre question of some kind. It’s happened before. More thick Buffalo rush-hour traffic and the usual bottleneck around the stadium made it a four-hour drive. On a Sunday morning, it’s two-and-a-half. The reconfigured parking lots have noticeably smaller spaces leaving little room between vehicles. This became relevant when the folks next to us set up a single-burner butane stove less than a foot from their truck to heat water for corn. Somehow, as we stood within a metre or so of the sketchy-looking set-up, the entire thing burst into flames and burned intensely with six-foot high flames for about a minute before the butane was spent and someone nearby doused it with water. A scary minute it was but the party resumed immediately afterward. We left the game with eight minutes left and got out of the lot very quickly. I think the egress is better but we won’t know for sure until there’s a close game where everyone stays to the end.

Turns out that with two billion dollars a new NFL football stadium can be built – just not one with very good seats. Let me explain: the plastic seats in section 136 at mid-field on the visitor side look like the cheapest ones they could find and they are not particularly well-fastened either. They are of course perfectly fine for watching a football game. I guess I was expecting something a little better. The view from these “cheap-seats” is fantastic as I knew it would be – at the 48-yard line 22 rows from the field. The slope of the lower bowl is identical to that of the now mostly demolished Rich Stadium so it’s the same view as I had before except five yards closer to the 50 yard line and one row lower. I guess the padded and more spacious seats are in the club sections. There is definitely more leg room between the rows and more space for people to pass (as was promised) but most of us will still have to stand up, especially when bundled up for winter games. The stadium offers great sightlines and general aesthetics with a much more spacious and well-lit concourse with the field visible from all of it. Curiously, there seems to be absolutely no signage whatsoever for washrooms. No signs like “Mens”, or “Washroom”, or the universal washroom symbol. Nothing. Our investigation led us to a door with men streaming in and out marked “Exit Only” which we realized was indeed a men’s room. Only a small line-up inside (possibly because no one could find it) which was not bad for 15 minutes before kick-off. A non-existent security check at the gate (9/11 was 25 years ago so “let’s lighten up on it” seemed to be the sentiment) then a pinch-point at the ticket scanning stations but not nearly as bad as Rich was. Overall, an excellent and fully functional – but I will stop short of saying luxurious – new stadium which is orders of magnitude better than Rich was. Just get some washroom signage. After forking over $850 million, the taxpayers of New York State and Erie County surely deserve to be able to find where to relieve themselves.

Josh Allen, who Richard Sherman suggested was suffering from a bad bout of flu on Thursday, opened the new stadium in style, appropriately scoring the first touchdown, then passing for three more and running for another to reach five in total. The game was never in question really. Colin Cowherd suggested on Friday that the Lions never had a chance – missing their two starting safeties against Josh Allen who was opening the house that was built mainly for and because of him. Cowherd speculated that Lions coach Dan Campbell probably said to his team “if we can just survive the first quarter…..” Well, the Bills steamrolled through that first quarter and most of the second before the home crowd held its breath as receiver DJ Moore injured his shoulder in the endzone. Initial speculation was that it could be a broken collar-bone but it wasn’t and Moore is listed as day-to-day with an AC joint sprain, although his status for the Chargers game is unknown. Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman both had big games with seven and six catches respectively. James Cook had 21 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown. Like Moore, Ed Oliver, who was a game-time scratch with a hip injury, is listed as day-to-day.

Up next for the Bills is a visit from the Chargers who have arguably been the most disappointing team in the NFL through two weeks of play. Any half-decent team - which pre-season punditry suggested the Chargers certainly were – with an 0-2 record is a dangerous opponent indeed and their fear of going 0-3 may be stronger than the Bills desire to push to a 3-0 start. Maybe the Chargers aren’t that good in 2026 after all. As they say, that’s why they play the games.

The Bills should be considered, after two weeks of play, to be the early favourite to represent the AFC in Los Angeles on Valentine's Day. That could – and probably will – change as the season grinds on.